Exploring my Judaism in rural Rwanda

     This week has been a pretty slow and rough one. This weekend my roommate had to abruptly fly back to the States since her dad was in a coma and being kept on life support until she got home. (I found out today that he passed away on Monday.) It was such a shock. I was scared for my roommate and didn't know what to say. As I went to the airport to send her off, I found myself more emotional than expected. Being so far away from family and friends is a really hard thing. Not to mention the constant fear that something will happen to a close family member or friend while you're gone.
     Dreading coming back to an empty room (my roommate took almost all of her stuff home, unsure of when and if she'll return), I decided to help Barrett greet the new month-long volunteers: Jewish youth from Year Course. Having been a camp counselor at a Jewish summer camp for years, I was excited to sort of take on the role on counselor while the students from Year Course join the Village. Instantly I felt at home. It was really refreshing to be with young Jewish youth who are so interested in learning about everything that surrounds them. After helping them find phones and exchange money, we returned to the Village for snacks and an explanation of the rules.
     After prolonging my visit home for the first time since my roommate left, I finally had to make my way back. The bed was still made, but everything of value was taken. All that was left was toiletries and towels. my roommate left some snacks on my bed which was really sweet. It felt weird to be in my house alone. It still does.
     But amidst all this change, confusion and sadness, Barrett and I have been supporting each other the whole way. I already feel like this experience has brought us both together. Having my support cut in half, both Barrett and I feel like we are each other's strongest supports. I am really lucky to have her! The most exciting development, is that Barrett is moving into my house, in the empty room across from mine. I am so happy that I won't be alone and we can be together more than we already are. Both of us have repeatedly expressed how happy we are!
     Hopefully once she moves in i'll feel more comfy at home. It's lonely being in a three bedroom house all alone! But i've been trying to keep busy, which is really important for me when I cope with things. I'll also be less bored as time goes on since i've taken on my roommate's job of Communications. With very little past Communications experience, I hope that i'll quickly learn what I need to do. It can't be that hard, right?
     But as for now, i've had little responsibility, so i've been helping Barrett with the Year Coursers. On Tuesday night I led a name game with the Year Coursers and the cousins. After the game we had a Q and A which I thought was very productive. One person asked what big challenges or rewards we've experienced so far. Immediately I told the story of Yvette and how quickly she opened up to me and felt comfortable with me. As I was speaking I felt myself choking up and getting emotional about how important our relationship has been to me (and I'm sure for her as well). It truly is amazing that after 1 week I was able to be a strong support for her. Another person asked how Judaism plays a role in our lives here in the Village and in Rwanda. I, of course, answered this question as well. I went on a lovely rant about how it's interesting to not believe in G-d or prayer in a country that is so G-d loving. I explained that for me, Judaism is about creating something meaningful in a cultural, emotional way and not a spiritual or religious way. I talked about the importance of dialogue and discussion as an ongoing process of understanding and exploring one's identity.
     After I spoke, a few people came up to me and explained that they wanted to find a time to talk to me to explore these very issues. One girl even came up to me and said "So, I think that we need to talk because we're the same person. Well maybe not the same person, but basically the same person." It was really cute. I immediately felt like I was back in my zone as madricha (counselor). I got to continue feeling like a madricha as I joined them on their day trip through Kigali: walked through the town of Nyamirambo, went to the Genocide Memorial Museum (this time for 2 hours instead of 40 minutes), ate a Rwandan buffet lunch (with fresh tree tomato juice!) and then went to the Kimironko Market. I look forward to continuing to be a resource for these youth during their stay in Rwanda.

Veggies at the Market. 

     I know this is getting long (I really need to be better about posting more regularly) so i'll tell you two really quick stories. The first story is about going to the clinic with one of my girls, Christine (she preferred to go with me over Mable so I felt very honored). We went to the clinic in Rubona which was very interesting to see: an outdoor clinic with lots of people seated, waiting to be seen. Things seemed to move very slowly. But, the crazy part of the morning was not that I had to wait 4 hours with Christine, but that for 1 whole hour we waited for the driver to arrive at the clinic to give her money to pay for the medicine. Let it be known that the clinic is approximately 3 minutes driving from the Village. The reason the driver was late: he was driving around staff from the Village to explore different sites for Tikkun Olam (repairing the world). I was shocked that the driver was not willing to make the staff walk and drive to drop off money for a sick child. I was even more shocked when he said that he couldn't pick us up because they were buying wood. Luckily Christine wasn't too sick so we walked back the 15 minutes from the clinic. It was pretty absurd!
     The second story is about the Tutoring Club. During the meeting, a student from Senior 6 who had been in the club last year asked me to explain what tutoring was. I was shocked that after a year of actively tutoring, he didn't know what it meant. I calmly explained tutoring and then he quickly responded that maybe we should cancel the club because it doesn't work and it's not worthwhile. I was appalled by his comment so I immediately went on a rant about the value of tutoring and peer-to-peer guidance. I left the club shaken up and frustrated. Fortunately, my mood changed very quickly: the same boy who seemed to denounce tutoring as a productive thing, requested that in order to solve the issue of not fully understanding tutoring, that I teach the students what tutoring is, how to be a leader and how to effectively make a difference. I was so happy that he had not just left the meeting with his negative perspective, but had actively requested that I partake in educating the students on the value of tutoring. I walked away smiling!
     More pictures to come when the Internet gets better.